When Dr Antti Senf watches an NBA league basketball game in the USA, he focuses on more than how the professionals and world stars perform. The Managing Director of Bona Germany also finds the distinctive squeak that their shoes make on the wooden court exciting. After all, the Swedish company – which is still family-run today – is the only supplier in the world whose products are permitted to be used to install and maintain the special wooden floors at NBA arenas. "We are a mid market company from Northern Europe with a history stretching back over 100 years. And we’re the global industry leader in installation and care products for high-quality, durable, and sustainable floors made from a wide variety of materials. Within this niche, we provide compelling solutions not just for construction professionals and private customers, but also for leading international sports venues, world-famous museums, and historical monuments. That makes our work really rewarding," says Dr Antti Senf.

It therefore comes as no surprise that Bona also has close ties to basketball in Hessen, albeit on a smaller scale than in the North American professional league: At its German headquarters in Limburg an der Lahn, the company sponsors the Bona Baskets Limburg, who play in the Southwest-North second regional division. Bona’s day job has a global focus, though: Only 20 minutes by high-speed train from Frankfurt Airport and with the nearby A3 offering excellent links to the European highway network, the company runs both its central distribution center for Europe and its global R&D laboratory for adhesives from Limburg. The city in Hessen is also home to one of only five production sites worldwide, supplying all markets in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

To ensure this broad range of activities stays fit for the future, the company expanded its operations in 2018, building a second state-of-the-art distribution center for wholesale pallet deliveries at another location in the city. Bona has had a presence in Limburg since 1974. "One of the main reasons then as now was Germany’s long tradition of industrial chemistry. This explains our status as a cluster of excellence for adhesives within the Bona Group. Hessen’s chemical sector boasts an exceptionally high level of innovation, and the state is also home to many key customers and partners. For example, we work together with "Industriepark Höchst" in Frankfurt to train our apprentices, giving them extremely extensive and varied insights into the chemical industry," Senf explains. The young staff also benefits from two other unique advantages of the German training market: dual training and dual study programs, both of which combine extreme practical relevance with high theoretical standards. "Such opportunities are worth a great deal to a company of our size, because they help us to find suitable specialists," Senf emphasizes.

Bona has 17 subsidiaries and more than 600 employees worldwide. Around 85 employees are based in Limburg, while a further 40 or so work in sales throughout Germany. This makes Germany the most important sales market after North America for the long-established Swedish company with its global focus. "The German construction industry is a key partner for building standards, which are later adopted by numerous other European countries. Products that make it here will find buyers in other regions of the continent as well," is how Senf explains the location’s special role. Germany’s innovative spirit is also a good match for the company’s philosophy. Founded in Malmö in 1919, Bona was the first company in the industry to offer a complete system of water-based finishing and care products for hardwood floors – an environmentally friendly alternative to the toxic, hazardous chemicals used in conventional competitor products.

As a global company with Swedish roots, the flooring specialist also has a typically Nordic mentality: The focus is on consensus-oriented workflows and an open culture of discussion. " Staff working for us can actively contribute and develop innovative ideas together. And we also set store by maintaining our long tradition. That is why we don’t just maintain close contacts with our headquarters in Malmö, but also like to give new employees the chance to spend several weeks at our parent company to get to know the values that make Bona special," explains Senf.

These also include deliberately putting down local roots at the company’s various locations and supporting community activities there. For example, Bona’s German headquarters not only supports the local basketball team but also sponsor Summer Games Limburg, the city’s traditional family festival. "We want to continue investing in our location and our future in the heart of Hessen," emphasizes German Managing Director Dr Antti Senf. "It’s about hard economic facts and jobs, but also about sustainable social development, something that is firmly anchored in our corporate culture. Hessen is an ideal place for all of these factors."